♪ this morning on "early today," high alert. the u.s. authorizes american evacuations out of japan as nuclear meltdown fears grow. line of fire, security cameras capture a dramatic shoot-out at a tennessee convenience store. and space odyssey, astronauts unveil the international space station's astronauts unveil the international space station's newest resident. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry.

today we begin with exit strategy. as japan's nuclear crisis deepens and reports about the status of one of its crippled nuclear plants differ, the united states has authorized the first evacuation of americans out of japan. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with the latest on this. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. good morning, everybody. we learned overnight that these will be voluntary evacuations, even though the airports have reopened, commercial flights are available, the u.s. state department will be organizing charter flights out of tokyo and other locations in japan to get americans out. the u.s. believes that the radiation levels, especially around the fukushima daiichi nuclear plants are extremely high. in addition, they have told americans to stay 50 miles away, much further than the japanese recommend. this is conflicting advice, but the white house says the u.s. is using a different standard of evaluating the information that they're getting. now, at the plant, the u.s. is concerned the nuclear regulatory commission chair has told

congress they believe that there is no water left in pool four, the japanese deny that. that would mean there is nothing to stop a meltdown. helicopters are now dropping water on the plant. the international atomic energy agency believes temperatures are rising there. president obama called japan's prime minister to pledge his continued support. lynn. >> tracie, thanks so much. meanwhile, work is said to be close to completion on a replacement power line that could restart cooling systems for fukushima nuclear reactors that were destroyed during friday's twin disasters. at the same time, japan's military is trying to keep the number four reactor cool, dropping sea water from above as tracie mentioned, hoping to prevent a meltdown. nbc's lester holt reports. >> reporter: there are concerns about a possible breach in the containment vessel at reactor three. a confirmed breach in reactor two is already leaking radiation. and there are new fears that the

all-important water cooling the still highly radioactive spent fuel rods at reactor four is dangerously low. workers were temporarily evacuated during the night and a water drop by helicopter was aborted after radiation levels briefly surged. but the public no longer knows what to believe. 77-year-old emperor akihito made a rare tv address. i am deeply concerned about the nuclear situation because it is so unpredictable, i said. these enormous lines in sendai are people waiting for one bus out of town. back in the disaster zone, snow and cold hampering rescue efforts, but hope has not been abandoned. >> if you can hear me, make a noise. >> reporter: uk rescue teams search a home after family members believe they hear a voice. >> the chances are small, but we do our best to see if we can get anybody. >> reporter: after dogs and teams go in, only a body comes out.

>> that was nbc's lester holt reporting from tokyo. although it has been increasingly overshadowed by the mounting nuclear crisis, rescue workers in japan are facing a monumental and increasingly desperate task. right now more than 5300 people are officially listed as dead from the country's earthquake and tsunami. but authorities expect that figure to rise, well over 10,000. more than 450,000 people are currently living in temporary shelters and millions more are struggling with shortages of water, food, medicine and electricity. adding to the growing list of problems, relief efforts are being hampered by freezing temperatures, heavy snow and rain. now let's get a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in tennessee, a robbery attempt ended up looking more like a shoot-out at the o.k. corral. the store owner wrestled with the suspects before pulling his

own gun and firing close to ten shots. the suspect returned fire, but quickly retreated. this was the fourth robbery attempt the store owner has faced. police are still searching for the two suspects. in california, a 40-foot section of highway gave way, creating a huge headache for drivers in the area. officials believe pieces of the roadway have been breaking off most of the day before the majority of it fell into the pacific ocean. a lengthy repair job is expected to keep that section of highway 1 closed for several days. and finally, to south carolina, where one non-profit organization is headed to the front lines of japan's water crisis. in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami disaster, approximately 1.5 million people are without power. the charleston based group is responding to the country's need by sending personnel and 10 to 14 water purification systems. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast.

>> bill, good morning. >> good morning to you. before we talk about the weather stateside let's talk about the winds in japan because that's what's going to be blowing. whatever radiation is out there and whatever direction the winds are blowing. last couple days they've been out of the northwest and that continues this morning with breezy conditions. winds lately have been out of the west/northwest at about 10 to 20 miles per hour. over the next three days, friday, saturday and sunday, the winds are going to remain offshore friday and saturday, but an onshore breeze by the time we get to sunday. if there's still radiation coming out, whatever degree it's at, will be blowing towards land and over land areas. that's the concern. they have until about sunday to try to get things under control. the temperatures out there today on the west coast, it's a chilly morning in medford, warm in arizona, phoenix by the way yesterday had their first 90 degree day of the year. and on much of the west coast is actually going to be much cooler today. it's not going to be much in the way of warmth. there's clouds even down in l.a. showers around portland.

so it's not a horrible st. paddy's day forecast but on the cool side with showers in oregon. now here's a look at the weather outside your window.ight. friday forecast coming up, lynn. >> thanks so much. coming up, stocks tumble, prices surge and the world's most expensive dog in the world. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. with over a month to go before this generation's fairy tale wedding, proof that quick commercialization of the event may have moved too fast. coming up -- the heat are thunder struck, the president makes his final four picks and one nfl star is switching sports. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. the united nations security council is planning to vote later today on a draft resolution that would impose a no-fly zone over libya and authorize air strikes against moammar gadhafi's forces. the move comes as rebels struggle to hold on to a an eastern city near benghazi. secretary of state hillary clinton says she does not want to serve a second term if president obama is re-elected next year. in an interview in cairo yesterday, clinton said that she has no interest in other posts such as vice president or defense secretary and that she does not plan on mounting another bid for the white house. pakistan has freed cia contractor raymond davis nearly seven weeks after he killed two pakistani men in what he claims was self-defense. davis's release came after the victim's families were paid more than $2 million which some

describe is compensation for their loss. others claim it's a payoff in return for the family's pardoning davis. southwest airlines is apologizing to the a muslim woman who was pulled off a recent flight because a flight attendant thought she heard her say into her cell phone, quote, "it's a go." what she actually said was "i have to go" because the plane was taking off. and england's prince william toured the devastated city of christchurch, new zealand this morning calling the devastation, quote, unbelievable. tomorrow william will head to australia to visit flood damaged areas. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,613 after plunging 242 points yesterday. the s&p dropped 24 points. the nasdaq fell 50. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei was down 131 points while in hong kong the hang seng tumbled 416. whether the effects of

japan's nuclear crisis reach american shores, the financial effects have already struck wall street. by wednesday's closing bell, the year's impressive gains on the s&p 500 and the nasdaq had been entirely wiped out. the year's most heavily traded session left the dow close to even for 2011. all 30 dow stocks fell and all ten company groupings on the s&p 500, the basis for most u.s. mutual funds lost ground. wall street's so-called fear index is up over 46% this week. fears drove investors to safer assets like bonds treasury prices jumped and the yield on the 10-year note briefly fell to the lowest level this year. and the bad news wasn't limited to japan. in february, new home starts posted their biggest drop in 27 years and permits for future building reached a record low. a day after reassurance from the fed that it expected inflation pressures to subside, february's

producer prices showed the biggest surge in the last year and a half. food prices saw their biggest increase since 1974. jitters hit currency markets, as well. wednesday, the japanese yen hit its highest level against the dollar since world war ii. just how bad a day was it? a rare brokerage downgrade sent apple sliding for a second straight day, down a whopping 4.5% or about $14 billion in value. here is something to smile about. finally, a chinese dog known as big splash has certainly lived up to his name. look at him. the red tibetan mastiff has become the world's most expensive dog, sold in china for close to $1.5 million. ochocinco tries a different kind of football. more march madness play-ins and how does your bracket stack up against the president's? plus dwyane wade tries to help

the heat rise above the thunder. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and the gray end to our winter weather continues. looks like a very warm friday is on the way. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today."

in sports, today is the day college basketball nuts wait for all year. the beginning of the ncaa tournament. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. the field now officially set for the ncaa tournament after the final two play-in games last night. we go to dayton, ohio. virginia commonwealth too much for usc. they outhustled and simply outplayed the trojans. after a first half, rams opened things up in the second, won it by 13 and bcu will play georgetown tomorrow. top seed ohio state will take on texas san antonio. they proved they belong in the tourney with a decisive win over alabama state. them need a game plan to stop johnson. road runners advance 70-61. president obama made his tournament picks, he has kansas beating ohio state to win it all. he has all four number one seeds in the final four. so much for change. nba, dunk of the night turned in by dwyane wade. 360 spin and two-handed jam, but

that was all the miami fans had to cheer about. time and time again, the heat fell apart in the second half and last night was no different. kevin durant had 29. thunder beat the heat, 96-85. magic and bucks needed overtime. howard sealed the win with one of his trademark dunks. he had 31 and 22 boards, magic won it, 93-89. forget about the knicks. the nuggets looked like they got the better end of the carmelo anthony deal. they beat the hawks in atlanta and are now 9-2 since the trade. they won it 102-87. finally, there are some positives from the nfl lockout. the work stoppage has given ochocinco a chance to try his childhood dream. he has a four-day tryout with a major league soccer team sporting kc. he played soccer in high school when he gave it up to play football in high school. he made a living using his hands, but kicked a field goal back in a 2009 preseason game. despite the lockout, chad is determined to play some form of football this year. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin.

the dramatic public trial charlie sheen was hoping for may be off, for good. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, the new space station crew member who can match wits and muscle with any of the best and the brightest. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this st. patrick's day. update on your forecast, more rain showers today in areas of portland, down the oregon coastline into medford. this is just a minor rain event considering the rain you've had this week. much of california's cooler today. arizona one more warm day for you in tucson and phoenix and then need to cool off as you go towards tomorrow. friday's forecast a larger storm system comes onshore. this one could have thunderstorms for with it for areas like san francisco. we'll end the active week with another one. watching us on nbc 7/39, san diego, california, see what the eye can't, creative images that capture multiple perspectives at the same time at imagine that, the museum of the photographic arts and that's your pacific event of the day, lynn. >> making me dizzy looking at it. thanks. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. jodie foster is back on her one-woman campaign to rehabilitate the public image of

mel gibson. in an interview, foster says of gibson, he's so incredibly loving and sensitive. he is the most loved actor i've ever worked with on a movie. i knew the minute that i met him i would love him the rest of my life. quite an endorsement. a big blow for charlie sheen's $100 million lawsuit against warner brothers and "two and a half men" cocreator chuck lorre. the hollywood reporter says a private dispute resolution company has decided when it comes to sheen's contract, it has jurisdiction over the dispute. that would mean no sensational public trial which sheen had hoped for. his lawyer says they'll challenge the finding. finally, proof positive the william and kate wedding novelties have gone completely overboard. one company based in china offering a $16 commencement just one little detail is wrong, look closely, they used harry's picture instead of his brother william's. honest mistake. same difference. >> what's worse, they didn't get

william right or had william and a different woman. >> that's true. that may have gone over a little bit more unsettling for a lady. yes. very true. >> sure harry got a good laugh. this comes to us from space where the folks on board the international space station welcomed their newest crewmembers. the first humanoids robot in space is out of its box. astronauts finally unveiled the robot, known as r 2. the robot is not a full member of the crew just yet. nasa still needs to run some tests and there's that little matter of a missing lower half. r 2's legs should arrive some time next year. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today, on your nbc station.

forget the bride and groom on top of the cake. when you are royalty, the couple is the cake. pastry chefs competed for the best royal wedding cake and top prize went to a lifelike confection of william and kate. complete with a fragile veil made of icing. other entries range from conventional to quirky but it couldn't top the duo dessert that took 80 hours to make. one man in india is trying to write his way into the record books. he designed what he hopes will be the world's largest pen, weighing in at 66 pounds, it stands at 13.3 feet tall. while he's awaiting confirmation from guinness, the previous record was just under 12 feet.

he also is proving the mammoth pen is functional, too, scribbling something for the crowd. just to show off there. what would you do if the lamborghini you just bought turns out to be a lemon? probably not this. the owner got so fed up after multiple disputes with the auto shop, he took a sledgehammer to the $300,000 sports car. the act of protest apparently came after a series of engine issues just one month after buying the luxury car second hand. i can just think of so many other ways to take out that frustration. maybe sell the parts, prove them wrong. >> i could have pulled up my $10,000 car and switched them out. >> and you would take the lemon, exactly. >> no problem. >> i don't care if there are engine issues. all right. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. an attorney for the man charged with killing 24-year-old yale graduate student annie le back in 2009 said raymond clark iii will plead guilty as part of a

plea deal in a connecticut courtroom today. j. investors stung by a surprising jump in wholesale prices in february are crossing fingers that today's consumer data won't be quite as disappointed. on this st. patrick's day, when stocks could use a little bit of luck, the cereal mascot lucky the leprechaun will ring the opening bell at the new york stock exchange. all day long, you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with nbc "nightly news." and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. ann curry reports live from japan as officials there scramble to cool those damaged nuclear reactors. and tips on making the perfect irish feast, whipping up last-minute snacks and paring the best beers on this st. patrick's day. plus, a special holiday performance. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

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